Adrenaline
by montez
Summary: What if Hotch was hurt worse in that SUV explosion than he was leading on to his team? my take on the S4 Premeire. My first CM fanfic, feedback welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Adrenaline  
By Montez

Disclaimer: I own nothing Criminal Minds and its characters are owned by CBS. This fanfic is purely for entertainment.

A/N: This is my first Criminal Minds fanfic. I've watched the show on and off over the years, but never really kept up with it. I finally started catching reruns and have become hopelessly hooked. Bought all four season and have watched them back to back, need to catch up with season five, hope to see those reruns soon. Anyway I watched the season four premiere on DVD which was just awesome with the way they started it with Hotch standing there catching a floating piece of debris from the explosion. Like I said loved the way the episode played out, but it just struck me odd that Hotch didn't have more injuries than a blown eardrum and shrapnel in his leg. This little fic is my version of what could have happened and how hurt he could have really been. Hope you enjoy-please be kind, like I said this is my first attempt with the BAU-_Montez_

Chapter 1

Adrenaline, according to Webster's, is a stimulant secreted by the adrenal glands. However if you ask any member of law enforcement it's the rush you get during a chase, knowing you are closing in on your suspect or the hyper-awareness that you feel just before a raid. But as Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner's eyes snapped open, it was the overwhelming feeling that he had missed something important, something vital to catching the allusive group of terrorist that seemed to be trying to hold New York hostage. It was David Rossi's voice the filled his jumbled mind, listing all the characteristics of the UNSUBS thus drawing the FBI's Behavioral Analyst Unit to the conclusion that they were not just dealing with their normal group of sicko's, but a well organized, well disciplined group of terrorist.

It took a moment for everything to flood back into Hotch's clouded mind, he was in a curtained off area, lying on his back, a faint beeping sound just off to his left. Pushing himself up Aaron realized he was lying in a hospital bed, the memories of the explosion and finding FBI Agent Kate Joyner bleeding to death in the middle of the street, several yards away from the burning vehicle returned in an instant. He remembered turning her over to try and find where the blood was coming from only to see the gapping wound on her back and what he was sure was her spine exposed as he tried desperately to pinch off the source of the bleeding while repeatedly yelling for help from the emergency responders that were at the end of the block. It was Kate's broken voice that reminded him that it had been the injured agents themselves that had warned the first responders of the possibility of their being secondary explosive devises and not to enter the area until it was cleared.

Derek Morgan's voice is what finally cleared Hotch's thoughts as he pushed himself the rest of the way up and off the gurney. A nurse immediately tried to get him to lie back down, but he knew he had to get a hold of his team, Morgan being the first since he was their, their profile of the UNSUBS had been wrong, they were missing something. Within thirty minutes the rest of the BAU team was at the hospital, Rossi having handed off Aaron's go-bag so the younger man could get dressed. The entire time the agent was getting dressed the doctor stood their protesting reminding the agent he had been in an explosion and that more test needed to be run. Hotch effectively ignored the man as he joined his team at the nurse's desk. He continued to hold a tissue to his right ear, if he had been honest he was having a real problem hearing out of it and the constant ringing wasn't helping his concentration, but he pushed on.

Doing a quick run through of the profile with his team they realized that the hospital, itself, was the target, more importantly it was the patient that the Secret Service had shut the hospital down for, but because of Agent Hotchner's pleading to allow them in with Kate in the back of the Ambulance, he finally realized he had been tricked into driving a rig full of explosives into the basement of the building. Taking off down the stairs once they caught sight of the 'paramedic' on security cameras, it was the rush of adrenaline that dulled any of the Agents injuries. Hotch; Rossi, Reid and Prentiss had heard over their earpieces that Morgan was now at the ambulance and requesting Garcia to find him the quickest route to an open area to which he could drive the rig. Knowing Derek was getting the vehicle out of the basement they focused on finding the terrorist. Splitting into two-man teams, Hotch and Rossi went down the right side of the hallway then down a second hall as Reid and Prentiss went left, doing the same. Coming into the loading area the team effectively encircled the man, who was sitting against a piece of fencing, gun in front of him, a large knife pressed to his own throat, a cell phone held up in his left hand. As they approached they could see the man press the button one more time, then the hint of a smile crossed his face. Upon being ordered to drop his weapon the suspect drew the blade across his throat, bleeding out in less than a minute.

Knowing there was nothing left to do the team headed back upstairs to the Emergency Room as the building was being flooded with personal from several different agencies including Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, as well as FBI from the New York Office.

"I have to find Kate." Hotch told Rossi, as he quickly headed toward the elevator, David and the rest of the team stopping to brief the incoming agents to what happened.

Getting off on the fourth floor the buzzing in Agent Hotchner's ears was starting to return as was the pain that was making itself known from his leg that he had been limping on for the last 30 minutes. The Hospital was on minimal staffing because of the bypass order so there weren't any nurses at the station near the elevators when Aaron stepped off. Quickly he pushed through the silver doors that lead to the operating theaters.

Stepping through the doorway of the first operating room he saw, Hotch found two orderly's cleaning up, "What happened here, where's the surgeon?" Hotch's mind was trying desperately ignore the covered body that sat in the corner of the room.

An older man stepped from a small room near the back of OR, making his way toward Aaron, "I'm sorry, we did everything we could."

Hotch's eyes drifted to the covered form as the doctor left the room and the orderly's stepped back toward the room the surgeon had emerged from. Taking a few steps the older agent stared at the blue covering, seeing the blond hair that was just barely sticking out from the top. Gently he reached and pulled the sheet back; uncovering the now peaceful looking, pain-free face of Agent Kate Joyner. As he looked at his fellow agent, his friend, he felt tears sting his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Placing the cover back in place he noticed her hand sticking out from the side, reaching for the hand, that just a few hours ago clung so desperately to his arm, he almost recoiled from the coldness, but instead gave it a gentle squeeze then placed it under the sheet.

Taking a step back, the buzzing in his ears intensified as did the pain in his leg, along with new pains he had not noticed before, like the pounding of his head and the heaviness his body was suddenly felling. Turning he slowly made his way out the doorway, into the hall. Dropping the Kevlar vest he had been carrying he put his right hand to his ear, squeezing his eyes shut a moment. Slowly opening them he could make out his team at the end of the hall, talking with the same man that had told him they had done all they could.

Agent's David Rossi, Dr. Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss, they were all there, they were all okay. He knew Derek Morgan was safe, even after his foolish stunt that probably saved all their lives. Agent Hotchner knew that JJ and Garcia were still safely at one of the Emergency staging centers, his team was safe. The older man stumbled a little as his vision started to gray, reaching a hand to find perch on the wall, a blinding pain shot through his head, like someone had stuck a hot poker into his right ear. Drawing in a strained breath he heard the faint shout of his name as he felt himself start to fall, his world going black.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrenaline  
Chapter 2  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_A/N: WOW! I am overwhelmed and humbled by the alerts/favorites and reviews of the first chapter of my first Criminal Minds fic. THANK YOU ALL! I hope I am keeping my characters in character as much as possible, but of course playing with peoples emotions can change how they react to things, but I'm hoping I am staying close. Thanks again-Montez_

Derek Morgan had called JJ once he found Hotch and Kate at the hospital, when the younger agent had entered he was worried about both agents, especially his boss. When Morgan crossed the barricades to reach the two injured agents after the explosion, he was surprised to find his boss as coherent and in control as he was considering how close he had been to the vehicle. However when Derek entered the ER and didn't readily see Agent Hotchner worry spiked in his mind, maybe his boss had been more injured than he was letting on, he knew Hotch would never admit to being hurt, especially when there was still an UNSUB to catch. Morgan had relayed his concerns to the rest of the team in the few minutes it had taken Hotch to get dressed once his go-bag had been brought to him. But everything happened so fast once they realized what the terrorist had really planned that the older agents injuries were forgotten.

Now, Agent's David Rossi, Spencer Reid and Emily Prentiss had just exited the elevators on the fourth floor; the nurse in the Emergency room had informed them it was the surgical floor. They had given a brief rundown to the incoming personal as to what had transpired at the hospital, them quickly broke off to search for their boss. SSA Aaron Hotchner had headed upstairs to check on Agent Kate Joyner, the head of the New York office who, like Hotch, had been injured in the car bomb that was planted under her SUV. From what little they knew of her condition they knew she had been rushed to surgery and by the grim look on the ER doctor's face, it didn't look good.

Stepping from the lift the three agents were met by the surgeon who was standing at the nurse's station finishing paperwork. Once the doctor informed them about Kate and that another agent was currently down the hall, the man headed toward his office, leaving the three agents slightly stunned. They had hoped that if Hotch wasn't anymore injured than he seemed, then maybe Kate's surgery would turn out fine, it's always hard to think you could loss someone you know to something like this, but they also knew the risk came along with the job.

"Do you think we should go check on Hotch?" Spencer asked the others as they still seemed to be absorbing the news.

"We need to give him a few minutes, he's known Kate for years, this is going to be rough on him, he'll feel like he should have done more. You know how he is when someone gets hurt on his watch." David answered.

A couple minutes passed as they talked, Emily had gotten a call from Garcia informing them that Morgan was a little banged up, but otherwise okay and that the FBI Tech was thoroughly upset with her best friend at the moment for the stunt the man had pulled driving an ambulance full of explosives through the streets of New York. Penelope informed Emily that both her and JJ were currently on their way to pick Morgan up and would be at the hospital shortly. As Agent Prentiss relayed the info to Rossi and Reid, she noticed a worried, almost scared expression cross Reid's face, then was surprised when he pushed between herself and Rossi, taking off down the hallway, but it was the name he yelled as he ran that get the two other agents moving.

"HOTCH!" Reid yelled as he took off, he didn't have time to say anything else as he had just watched his boss step from the operating room, dropping his Kevlar vest and quickly reaching for his head. It was when the older man looked up and locked eyes with Reid that the younger agent knew something wasn't right. In the fraction of a second it took Spencer to react, he watched as Hotch reached a hand toward the wall and what little color the man still had in his face to leave it.

Reid reached Aaron just as the man's legs gave out; the older man's weight quickly took the younger agent to his knees as he tried to keep Hotch from hitting the floor. David reached Reid and helped to take some of Agent Hotchner's weight as they eased the man down, "Hotch!" David spoke loudly, "Aaron?!"

"David, his ear…" Reid spoke nervously as he noticed the blood that was coming from the unconscious man's right ear.

Rossi quickly checked Hotch's pulse, relieved it was still their and steady, if not just a little fast. "Emily, go find the doctor, now." Prentiss looked worriedly at her boss then took off down the hall they had seen the surgeon disappear down.

"He…he seemed alright…what do you thinks wrong?" Reid may be a genius, but sometimes he didn't think, after all his boss had been less then ten feet from a car bomb, did they really think he couldn't be more injured than it seemed.

"I don't know," Rossi responded, his eyes never leaving the lax form of his friend, needing the constant reassurance that the steady rise and fall of the injured man's chest was giving him. "The doctor in the ER kept telling him that more test needed to be run, but Hotch just ignored him."

"Maybe we shouldn't have let him come with us, maybe we should have insisted that he finish getting checked out." Reid mumbled again as his hand remained on Hotch's shoulder, also needing some assurance that his boss was still alive, though he looked so deathly pale.

David actually turned his head to look at the younger man, "Do you really think we could have stopped him from looking for that guy? The man tricked him into driving an ambulance full of explosives into this hospital, so short of restraining him to the bed, do you honestly think we could have stopped him?"

Reid looked at David then back down at Aaron, "He'd have probably chewed through the restraints." the younger man chuckled nervously as did Rossi, it was a brief moment of levity they both needed as they glanced up and saw Emily rushing back down the hall with the doctor.


	3. Chapter 3

Adrenaline  
Chapter 3  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_Thirty-seven minutes._

For the past thirty-seven minutes Spencer Reid had been checking his watch. In between glances at his wrist his eyes would go to the doorway leading to the Emergency Room; for some unknown reason the nurses were now enforcing the no visitors while the patient was being examined rule. Then he'd look to the pacing form of David Rossi and the seated form of Emily Prentiss, who would occasionally run a nervous hand through her hair, then he'd look back down at his watch.

_Thirty-eight minutes._

It had been thirty-eight minutes since SSA Aaron Hotchner had collapsed in the fourth floor hallway, outside the operating room that held the body of Special Agent Kate Joyner, a fellow FBI Agent and head of the New York Office. In those thirty-eight minutes the doctor's had rushed Hotch back down to the ER and began running the tests and scans the doctor had been trying to get the Agent to submit to before he had ignored the physician's orders and pursued the UNSUB/Terrorist/Bomber.

Thinking back now Reid felt many emotions after what had happened over the past several hours fear and worry being the main two, but currently guilt was the prevalent one. Between Kate's SUV exploding with her and Hotch within feet of it, Morgan chasing the suspect who planted the device, to the team being called to the hospital by Hotch and them figuring out that the older agent had been tricked into driving an ambulance full of explosives into a hospital with a Secret Service by-pass on it. Then Morgan driving the ambulance out of the hospital, the rest of the team finding the suspect on the loading dock, finally watching as said suspect took his own life, no one seemed to notice that Hotch was hurt.

Yeah, Hotch had been holding some tissues to his right ear as the team talked about the profile, they may have even noticed the slight limp the man was walking around with, but they had all seemed to have forgotten that he had been within feet of an explosion that had already cost them one agent. Now three of the seven member BAU team were hoping it wasn't going to cost them their Unit Chief.

_Forty minutes._

Reid, Rossi and Prentiss all looked up as they heard the outside doors open, the voices of Garcia and Morgan could be heard arguing back and forth, "Seriously Baby Girl, I'm fine, just bruised my shoulder when I hit the ground…I'm fine." Morgan tried to reassure one of his best friends.

"Just let them look at you, I can't have my tall, dark and wonderfully foolish man banged up…please?" Garcia's voice broke a little, she was still obviously shaken from having to listen to Morgan pleading for directions to someplace safe he could drive the mobile bomb, then the few seconds of silence she had endured as Morgan baled out of the Ambulance before it exploded, had done a number on the already raw emotions the FBI Tech had been dealing with after watching Hotch and Kate being caught in the SUV explosion.

"Fine, if it will make you feel better…" Morgan was relenting to the colorful woman's demands when he looked up and caught sight of Spencer, David and Emily, worry and concern clear on their faces. Assuming it was about him he started to reassure them, "Look guys, I know it was a stupid move, but it needed to be done and I'm fine. Did you find the guy?" It was then that Derek finally took in the expressions of his teammates as JJ's voice broke the silence.

"Where's Hotch?" The Blonde Agent looked around, not seeing their boss, a sick feeling settling in her stomach, which was already in knots from the night's events.

The silence was unnerving as Derek spoke again, "David, where's Hotch?"

Reid's quiet voice is the one that answered, "He's back in the Emergency Room, they're having to run some tests."

Garcia's hand went to her mouth, not being a profiler herself, she could tell by the look on her team's face that something bad was happening. Morgan shook his head, "What? Why? He was fine when I left."

"That's what he wanted us to think." Rossi answered. "He collapsed upstairs outside the operating room. He went up their looking for Kate…she didn't make it." A strangled cry escaped Garcia as JJ just stood there, stunned. Reid took JJ's arm and led her to a nearby chair, the rest of the team soon followed as David continued. "The suspect killed himself once we surrounded him, when we came back up here, Hotch headed up to find out about Kate while we told the incoming Agents what had happened. Within a few minutes we headed up to find him, that's when we ran into the surgeon and he told us about Kate. Shortly after that Hotch came out of the room and collapsed in the hallway, he was bleeding from his right ear as well as his leg, blood had saturated his pants leg, but with the dark color we never noticed." Morgan could clearly see the guilt in Rossi's face, the same guilt he was now feeling at having missed that Hotch was hurt a lot worse that he was leading on. "When the doctor opened up his shirt to start taking his vitals his chest was nearly black from bruising. They brought him back down here to run more tests and do a CAT and MRI, we haven't heard anything yet, that's been…"

Reid broke in at the time, "Forty-eight minutes ago."

As the Agents sat, absorbing the story they each looked toward the ER doors, willing them to open and their Unit Chief to walk through them, but each knowing that was very unlikely.

_A/N: Sorry so short, next will be longer. probably only have two more to go. another big THANK YOU to everyone who has favorite/alert and reviewed my story so far. I truely appreciate it!-Montez_


	4. Chapter 4

Adrenaline  
Chapter 4  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

It was an hour and a half before the Emergency Room doctor emerged from the faux wood doors, approaching the six people who sat or paced the otherwise empty waiting room. Everyone stood as the man approached, Rossi asking the question they all needed to know, "How is he?"

"Please, everyone have a seat…" reluctantly the group sat as the doctor did the same, "Honestly I'm surprised Agent Hotchner regained consciousness when he did earlier, let alone that he was able to function in the capacity that he did."

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, when he had arrived at the hospital earlier, other than being overly irritated at not having his cloths the younger agent hadn't noticed anything obviously wrong with his boss.

Looking at the tired expressions of the group before him the doctor began explaining what was wrong with their supervisor, their friend. "In addition to his blown eardrum and the wounds on his leg where I had removed the shrapnel, Agent Hotchner has a severe concussion and several cracked ribs as well as most of his body being covered in severe bruising from the concussion of the blast, he's very lucky that pressure didn't cause his lungs to collapse. From the scans we ran I don't see any skull fracture but he has bruising on the back of his head, I'd assume from hitting the ground after being thrown. There is a small area of bleeding inside his skull, but so far there doesn't appear to be any swelling and we are hopeful that it will correct itself without surgery. We are going to monitor him closely, to make sure it doesn't become a bigger problem." The doctor watched as the agents before him absorbed the information, "Agent Hotchner will be moved up to the ICU for observation, at least for the next twenty-four hours, to monitor the bleeding. To be completely honest he will probably be unconscious for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours with a concussion this severe. You all should try and get some rest, he won't be allowed any visitors until at least tomorrow…" the doctor glanced at his watch, realizing it was morning, "well, later this afternoon or evening." The doctor stood as did the rest of the team.

"Thank you doctor." David responded after shaking the man's hand, who then turned and headed back through the doors. Turning to the other members of the BAU Rossi rubbed his own tired eyes. "He's right, we should check in at the office and update them on Hotch, then we should try and get some rest. There's going to be debriefings later today then we'll want to come back up here and check on him." Surprisingly there wasn't much argument from the group before him, though the veteran profiler could see their intense worry for Hotch.

The group stood collectively and had turned toward the door when Rossi's voice stopped them, "Morgan, you still need to be checked out."

The dark-skinned agent looked at the older man, "I'm fine, the sooner we get the debriefing and paperwork out of the way, the sooner we can get back up here with Hotch." Garcia was standing next to Morgan. Reid, Prentiss and JJ watched the exchange a few feet behind them.

"Yeah, and that's what Hotch told us too and see how well that turned out. Garcia's going to stay with you here and make sure you get checked out…" Rossi gave the Tech a tired smile, "and if I know her, you'll be with a doctor before we hit the parking lot."

Giving only a hint of the smile the young woman was known for she gently took Derek's arm, "Come along my banged up cup of hot cocoa, I may still be mad at you, but I can't let the love of my life suffer in silence." and true to form, before Derek could stop her, the young woman was pulling him toward the nurse's station, quickly getting the attention of a passing nurse.

The rest of the team slowly headed for the door, hoping to accomplish what needed to be done quickly so, like Morgan said, they could get back to the hospital and Hotch.

* * *

Once Morgan had been checked out, having come through his ordeal of bailing out of an ambulance full of explosives with only a bruised shoulder, he and Garcia had returned to the field office. Informing the team of his minor injuries they all silently finished paperwork as Rossi contacted Quantico, relaying Hotch's condition to the Assistant Director and surprisingly getting the okay for the team to remain in New York until their Unit Chief was able to return to Virginia, not that they team wouldn't have stayed anyway regardless of what Strauss would have said.

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Several hours later found the BAU team in a private waiting room the hospital had set up for them. Hotch's doctor had given them the okay for someone to visit with the unconscious Agent for a few minutes ever hour, per the rules of the ICU.

Slowly over the course of the first several hours the team filtered in and out. Morgan going first as guilt overwhelmed him at not seeing what his boss had hidden from him so well, but that was one thing Agent Hotchner was known for, pressing on in the face of overwhelming odds. As Derek followed the nurse to the glass enclosed cubicle that contained Hotch Morgan whispered, "Damn it." The younger man stopping as he stepped to the foot of his boss's bed. The ex-cop had never seen his current boss so still, so vulnerable looking. Yes there were times when Hotch would just stand and stare at information up on a board that they were working off of, or when the man would be in an interrogation room with a suspect and just watch the person without moving, but that was different.

During those times Derek could almost always see his boss's 'wheels turning'; the older man had a way of seeing things without anyone around him knowing he was even looking. However, the stillness now was unnerving and it shook Morgan to his core. "You've pulled a lot of crap over the years Hotch, but not telling us how bad you were hurt, that…" Derek cleared his throat, "that's…" shaking his head slightly Morgan pinched the bridge of his nose, "You'd have ripped me a new one if I'd done it." Walking up and placing a hand on Hotch's arm, the younger man squeezed it, "I fully expect an ass chewing for the ambulance stunt." He whispered as he turned to leave the room, telling himself he would gladly take the ripping as long as Hotch was okay.

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David Rossi was the next visitor the following hour, the older man had watched Morgan when he had returned from seeing Hotch the previous hour and the older profiler knew it was taking all of Morgan's will-power to not punch something, overwhelming guilt was wearing on them all at not seeing how hurt Hotch was. Rossi stepped into the cubicle that held his former protégé, now effectively his boss, and quietly pulled up a nearby chair. "You know this whole, 'I'm fine, the job comes first' attitude you have is going to get you killed one day." David spoke softly. Rossi knew the devotion that Aaron had to his job, his team and the FBI, but the older man also knew that blind devotion would get you killed and near-proof was lying in the bed he was now sitting beside.

"I've heard you talk to Morgan about trust, but you have the same problem. You always think you have to be in the thick of things, that if you step aside and allow someone else to take the lead everything will fall apart." David leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, "That's bullshit Aaron and you know it. You know you have an amazing team; you should have let us go after the guy after we figured it out, but I know your pride wouldn't have let you. You think it was your fault that he tricked you into driving that rig in here with the bomb in it…if it hadn't been you it would have been someone else and they probably wouldn't have had the team you have to figure out what was really happening until it was too late. It wasn't your fault…any of it." David leaned back, folding his hands in front of him, "You've got a great group of people who care a lot about you, you need to remember that." Silence filled the room for a few minutes before Rossi stood, giving his friends shoulder a gentle squeeze before leaving.

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Spencer Reid stood in the doorway, looking at the unconscious form of his boss. It had unnerved the youngest member of the BAU when Hotch had locked eyes with him in that hallway. It was almost as if the older man knew Reid would be the only one to react quickly enough to what was happening to him. Spencer had never seen fear in Hotch's eyes before, but in that instant fear was what he saw. Reid didn't know if it was fear that something else was going to happen and Hotch couldn't stop it, or if it was fear that the older man knew he was losing control of what was happening to him, something Hotch didn't like. In the hours since the older man's collapse Spencer had hoped it wasn't fear that Hotch thought that maybe he was dying. Reid knew what that fear felt like and he wouldn't wish that hopeless feeling on anyone, let alone the one person that had been a source of stability for him since Gideon had abruptly left.

Reid had played over in his mind what had happened since they had all arrived at the hospital to see if there was something they had missed in the way Hotch had carried himself, but other than the slight limp and the obvious cuts and bruises that were visible, there wasn't anything the young profiler could recall that would have sent off warning bells that Hotch was more injured than he was leading his team to believe. However, standing here watching the heart monitor that showed the man was indeed still alive Reid had to give his boss credit, the man was good enough to fool some of the best profilers in the world. Without fully entering the room, Reid glanced again at the lax face of his boss then turned and headed back toward the waiting room.

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JJ silently stepped into the small room, taking in the form on the bed. Was it just a few hours ago that she had told a her team that she was pregnant, she had barely seen the look of surprise in Hotch's face before it was quickly hidden by his stoic business look. She had been relieved a few moments later when she had called his name as he stepped away from the group in the hotel lobby and he turned giving her a rare smile, but the worry she heard in his voice as he said 'you could have told me' still bothered her. She had seen over the years of working with the man that he cared a lot about the team he had surrounded himself with and yes, she had felt bad not telling her 'family' about her pregnancy, but she also knew it would distract the team in their concern to keep her safe. She and Will still had so much to work out in their relationship that she wasn't sure how to tell everyone, but when Will had showed up in New York it wasn't something that could be hidden any longer.

Stepping quietly to the side of the bed, JJ thought if you just ignored the beeping sound and the IV line Hotch would appear to be sleeping, just like the others had said. However, the few times she had ever seen Hotch sleep, usually on the jet coming back from a case, this did not look like those times. Even in his sleep the man seemed to be thinking and he was really this still, so trying to pretend he was just sleeping wasn't working for the Media Liaison, this was unnatural. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before we left Virginia." JJ whispered, nervously twisting the button on the bottom of the sweater she was wearing. "I was going to when Will got there, then we got called here and…" she blew out a deep breath as she looked at the man who was almost like a big brother to her. "I just didn't want you guys to worry about anything else but the case." Gently she laid her hand on his arm, "I know they say you're going to be fine, but you need to wake up soon, you've scared everyone." Clearing her throat JJ patted Hotch's arm then turned to leave.

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Emily Prentiss sat down in the chair Rossi had pulled up next to the bed and just looked at the man lying their. When word of the explosion reached her, her mind had gone to the seemingly more 'vulnerable' members of her team. Not that any one of them weren't strong enough to handle what came at them, quite the contrary, she had never worked with a group of people who could endure what they have in the past and still be a functioning, efficient team, but for some reason she never dreamed it was Hotch that was caught in the blast. She had watched videos of crimes being committed, had seen so many gruesome crime scene photos, but watching Agent Kate Joyner and Hotch walking toward that SUV, then watching it explode, throwing Hotch out of camera range had almost cost Emily what little she had eaten in their short time in the Big Apple.

SSA Aaron Hotchner was a man she greatly respected, not only as an Agent, but as a person. She had seen the man handle some seemingly impossible situations with a dignity that few others could pull off time and again. She knew when she joined his team it was going to rough, he had not approved of her transfer in and that made him suspicious of her and she didn't blame him for that. However, over the years she had earned his trust and more importantly his respect, especially when she had opted to resign from the FBI rather than be Strauss's mole in the team.

Emily had learned over time that Hotch never asked more from his team than he, himself, was willing to deal with. So sitting there watching his chest rise and fall, listening to the faint beeping of the heart monitor she found herself doing what she was sure the rest of the team had been doing over the last several hours, trying to figure out how he had managed to hide how hurt he was from the people closest to him. "You know, you always worry about everyone else, but who worry's about you?" Emily's quiet voice spoke. "I may be out of line, but you don't always have to hide everything from us, we care about you as much as you care about us and in my time on this team I know for a fact that you wouldn't have let any of the rest of us pull what you did." Emily could feel anger build a little, anger at herself for not seeing his injuries, anger at the man in the bed for thinking he had to hide his pain, anger at the terrorist that caused all of this. Standing, she looked into the 'sleeping' face of her boss, her friend, "You work your way back to us, okay, we need you." Silently Emily slipped from the room.

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"Oh Boss-man…" Garcia whispered as she made her way to the side of his bed, "What did they do to you?" The younger woman cleared her throat, trying to not cry at the still form before her. Her heart had nearly stopped when the NYPD officer she was working with in security center found the video of the explosion, seeing Hotch being blown out of the frame from the force of the blast. The FBI Tech had been asked to review horrific photos and videos over the years but nothing had affected her like watching someone she knew being blown up. Yes, she and Gideon had watched Reid 'die' during the time the younger agent had been held captive by an unbalanced suspect with a multiply-personality disorder and those images still haunted her nightmares. Having watched the explosion caused the same feeling of pain, fear and helplessness that she had felt then and she knew the images would play lead in what she was sure would be new nightmares.

Quickly digging into her oversized purse Garcia pulled out one of the wild-haired troll dolls that she carried with her on the few occasions she would be brought out into the field with her team. Moving the little rolling table closer to the side of the bed she stood the little green-haired creature on the edge of it facing Hotch. "Someone to keep you company when they won't let us back here." Closing her bag she sat on the edge of the chair, "Sometimes I don't know what's worse, waiting for my babies to come back home to me or being here having to watch something happen to one of you and not being able to do a thing about it." Trying to smile she looked up toward Hotch's face, "Sometime's I feel like the old mother hen and you all are my children and you keep running out doing all this dangerous stuff and I can't do anything but pray that you all will come back safe." Standing she took a hold of Hotch's lax hand, her voice taking on a reprimanding tone, "I'm just going to have to have a serious talk with you and Morgan, all this has been too much for me to deal within one night…" squeezing his hand gently she whispered, "You hurry up and come back to us Boss-man."

Looking down at the hand she held, the tears she had been trying so hard to contain spilled over as she watched and felt his fingers gently close around hers, "That's it, we're all waiting for you Oh Captain, My Captain." Smiling widely Garcia motioned for the nurse who was just across the way from the cubicle, then she reluctantly made her way back toward the waiting area as the doctor was called and the nurse asked her to leave, but her heart felt lighter knowing Hotch was working his way back to them.

_A/N: Okay this was way longer, but once I started writing this chapter it took on a life of it's own, hope it worked. One more chapter to go (probably) It may be a couple of days, but I hope to have it soon. THANKS AGAIN for all your support in my first CM fanfic, I am so tempted to try again, you guys are awesome!-Montez_


	5. Chapter 5

Adrenaline  
Chapter 5  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_A/N: Okay, It's been requested that I make this fic a little longer, so I will try,hopefully without wearing my story thin. There will probably be at least two more chapters now, I know chapter four was longer and several of you let me know you enjoyed the longer ones, I'll try to make them longer, but It usually ends up being how the story flows, I hate to put a lot in a chapter if I don't feel it flows right, but I'll try. Thank you all again for your wonderful Reviews/Alerts/Favorites you guys are what keep my confidence going, again I'm truely humbled and grateful!--Montez_

It had been eighteen hours since Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner had collapsed in the fourth floor hallway of St. Barclay's Hospital; he had been moved from ICU to a private room. The doctor's had been running scans every six hours, watching to make sure the small bleed he had inside his skull didn't become a bigger problem than all of his other injuries combined. After the second scan the area had begun to shrink in size and by the third scan there was barely any indication of what could have potentially killed the unconscious agent.

Once moved to his own room the doctor's relaxed the visitation rules a bit and allowed the remaining six members of his team to 'take up residence' in the room with their boss, their friend. As the nurse silently entered the room to check on her patient only Agent David Rossi's eyes looked up to greet her entrance. Extra chairs had been brought into the room to accommodate the other Agents. The team had given JJ the small couch in the room, in their feeling of helplessness of being unable to help Hotch over the last several hours, they had all taken to keeping an eye on JJ, especially now that everyone was aware that she was expecting. She had, at first, argued with her teammates, suddenly feeling smothered, but it was the pleading look and concerned sound of Reid's voice that convinced her to allow her friends to care for her.

Garcia and Morgan sat in chairs along the wall where the door was, her head resting on his broad shoulder, his hand holding onto hers. Since Penelope had returned to the waiting room all those hours ago, excitedly telling everyone that Hotch had squeezed her hand they each had hoped that on their subsequent visits he would react to them, but so far there had been nothing but unnatural stillness.

Emily sat near the window, her hand holding her head up as the exhaustion finally claimed her. She had been in the hallway with Rossi and Reid when Hotch collapsed and that image alone had rattled her normal ability to 'compartmentalize' what she saw. Agent Hotchner was like the unmovable, unrelenting steel support that kept this unique group of people together and to see him fall, so soon after believing he had escaped serious injury in the car bomb blast, it was just something she was going to have to work on getting past. Never again would she take his strong, silent presence for granted.

Spencer Reid had actually taken the seat in the window seal, his head leaning awkwardly against the frame. He had mumbled something awhile ago in his sleep, but as much as Rossi tried to make sense of what the younger agent was saying, he was unable. David knew with the way Spencer's brain worked it could be about anything, from something as trivial as Star Trek trivia facts to some complicated Mathematical equation that the older agent wouldn't understand on his best day. Though Spencer seemed the most 'fragile' of this elite group, David had learned that the young man was probably one of the strongest people he would ever encounter. Having endured the turbulent childhood of a child prodigy with a mentally unstable mother, to being kidnapped and tortured by an unstable suspect leaving him with a drug addiction that the agent was so afraid he would slip back into. However the look of absolute fear that Rossi had seen in the younger man's eyes as he helped Reid lower Hotch's unconscious form to the floor, brought David to the realization that he was still dealing with a very young person and someone who had his own issues with stability and people he cared about leaving him.

"He's doing just fine; the doctor thinks he could wake up anytime now." The nurse's quiet voice brought David from his thoughts of the team of people that surrounded him and returned his focus to the reason they were all sitting in a hospital room in the middle of the night.

"Thank you." Rossi whispered back as he straightened himself up in his chair, again looking over the man in the bed he was sitting next to. When Aaron Hotchner had joined the BAU it was because both David and former Unit Chief Jason Gideon had been completely blown away with the profiling abilities with the quiet former Prosecutor turned FBI Agent. Both men were intrigued with the former lawyer who joined the FBI, then had done a couple years with the FBI's SWAT team before taking the needed course to move forward into the world of Profiling.

Hotch had been in his late twenties when he joined the FBI, the younger man had been married a few years but didn't have children yet. Once Gideon approved for the younger man's transfer into the Unit Rossi took it upon himself to mentor the newest member. One of the first things he did was pull the younger man aside and explain to him the overwhelming demands of being one of a handful of Profilers, it was a demand, that David explained had contributed to his two and working on his third failed marriage. He wanted Aaron to understand he needed to make sure he didn't let the job totally consume him to the detriment of a normal life away from the FBI. Rossi remembered that was a time when Hotch would smile a lot easier than he currently does, the younger man patting the older profilers shoulder in reassurance that he wouldn't make the same mistakes. However, as David looked at the prone form in the bed, he knew that no matter how hard Aaron had fought to hold his life with Bureau and his life outside the Bureau separate, the job always had a way of grabbing you in a choke hold and not letting go and it had unfortunately cost Hotch his marriage.

The room was still silent except for the muffled sound of the heart monitor and the faint hiss of the oxygen canal that was across the unconscious agent's face. David stood to stretch his tired muscles, it was times like this that the older man could really feel his age, thought he had to admit he was in pretty good shape for a man in his fifties. Walking over to the small table next to the bed Rossi picked up the green-haired creature that he had noticed with Hotch in the ICU, he glanced over toward Garcia, still asleep against Morgan's uninjured shoulder, and smiled. In all his years he had never meet someone as colorful and cheerful as the Computer Tech. He agreed with Hotch on the point that with all they see and do, it was nice to have someone who could always bring a smile or chuckle to an otherwise horrific case, but the older man had yet to not be completely caught off guard with how the younger woman answered her phone when they called, but if it could get the hint of a smile from Hotch on occasion then it was okay with him.

A moan from the bed caused David to turn quickly, stepping closer, watching, he noticed movement behind Aaron's closed eyelids. Laying his hand on the younger man's arm, he gave it a gentle squeeze, "Aaron? Aaron can you here me?"

Hotch's forehead pinched with pain as the eye movement turned in attempts to blink. Turning his head slightly toward David's voice Hotch tried to bring his hand to his face, but the pull of the IV and the slight pressure Rossi kept on his arm kept him from moving it, "Hotch, you need to take it easy. Can you look at me?"

Blinking continued until chocolate-brown eyes cracked open, this time Hotch turned his head the other way, his right hand coming up to cover his eyes, then moving to the side of his head, covering his ear, as his eye's squeezed shut from the pain. "Uhhh…" Was the only sound the waking agent made as he attempted to curl onto his side, pain nearly taking his breath as the heart monitor started to note the pain and distress the injured Agent was experiencing.

Before David even realized it the nurse was stepping up to the other side of the bed, alerted by the increased heart rate on his monitor, trying to push Hotch back onto his back so she could assess him. Rossi gently took the younger man's shoulder, trying to whisper reassurance, "Come Hotch, let her look at you then they can get you something for the pain."

"Dave…" the strangled whisper of his name told volumes to the amount of pain Hotch was in.

"I'm right here Aaron, you need to relax so the nurse can help you." David's hand stayed on Aaron's shoulder as the younger man reached his own hand up and grabbed a hold of Rossi's wrist. David placed his free hand over Hotch's as the injured man squeezed, the older Profiler knowing it was Hotch's way of trying to ground himself through the pain. "You're okay Hotch, you're safe, just relax." David could feel the near bone-crushing grip that Hotch held onto his arm with, but within a moment it suddenly relaxed. Looking quickly toward the nurse he felt himself almost panic, "What happened? Is he all right?"

After quickly checking the IV and Hotch's vitals, the woman adjusted the blankets over the again sleeping Agent. "He's asleep, the pain from his injures as well as the concussion caused him to drop off again, his vitals' look fine, but I did page the doctor before I came in here, he should be here shortly to check on him. Agent Hotchner may wake-up like that a few times before he becomes more coherent." Still seeing concern reflected in the older Agent's face, she gave him a small smile, "He's doing just fine, he's been through a lot and his body and mind need time to process it and to heal. I'll be back in a little while to check on him."

Watching the young woman leave the bedside and hearing the door close, Rossi looked back into the now sleeping face of his friend. "You sure as hell know how to scare the people around you, you know that?" Standing for a moment, glancing at the heart monitor, that was again steady, then lowering his friends hand that had gone lax around his wrist, David watched the rise and fall of Hotch's chest, taking in the reassurance that he was still alive and that with the help the team would give him, whether he liked it or not, Aaron would work his way back from this.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrenaline  
Chapter 6  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_A/N:THANKS AGAIN! you guys are awesome, hope you enjoy-Montez_

Dawn was peeking through the blinds between the two panes of glass that Spencer Reid was now waking up leaning against, rubbing his hand over his neck, silently cursing himself for dosing off in such an awkward position, he quietly stood, stretching his back. Glancing around the room he noticed JJ still asleep, her feet pulled in close as she lay on the small couch. "Morning sleepy head," Greeted the young agent as his eye's traveled to Derek Morgan, who still had Penelope leaning on his shoulder.

Giving one of his awkward smiles the younger man glanced toward the bed, then back to Morgan, "Still no change?" Quietly Reid made his way across the room, trying not to wake his still sleeping team members.

"I don't think so, but I've only been awake about thirty minutes or so, everyone else has been asleep." Morgan tried to shift without waking Garcia, but failed as the colorful woman beside him raised her head, reaching toward the table next to her for her glasses. "Morning beautiful," Morgan smiled at the young woman.

"I always wondered what it would be like waking up next to you." She smiled back, Reid looking completely lost concerning the statement, Morgan and Garcia chuckling as his expression. "Has he woken up yet?" she asked straightening up, trying to smooth out her bright green top.

"It doesn't appear so, but I would think he would soon." Worry laced the youngest member of the BAU's voice, "It's been over twenty-four hours, the longer he goes without regaining consciousness the more of a chance of there being a complication that could result…"

"Reid." Morgan's voice stopped the nervous rambling the young genius was known to slip into when stressed by a situation.

"Sorry…" Looking down at his feet, Spencer pushed his hands into his pockets.

Morgan had noticed Emily sit up a little straighter while Reid was rambling, now coming to stand next to her teammate she placed a hand on his shoulder, "We're all worried, its okay." She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, getting one of his boyish, nervous grins in return. Stretching her hands over her head Prentiss gave a quiet yawn, "I don't know about anyone else, but I could use some coffee."

Reid's head shot up at that, "I'll come with you."

Emily smiled seeing the relieved looked on Spencer's face at being able to do something. Glancing toward the bed, them back to Morgan, "I know you'll take coffee…" she then looked at Penelope, "Garcia?"

"Tea if they have it, you should get something decaf for JJ." Penelope smiled.

"Okay…" Emily looked at Reid, "Four regular coffees, one decaf and one tea, we'll be back shortly." Emily turned as she and Reid left the room.

A few minutes passed, Morgan had gotten up to stretch, forgetting his hurt shoulder until he tried to rotate it, "Damn" he mumbled, Garcia's eyes going to his quickly.

"You okay, do I need to get someone or something for you?" The young woman was on her feet in an instant. Morgan would have laughed if he hadn't seen the intense worry in her face, he knew with the stunt he pulled with the ambulance and the Tech watching the explosion that had cost them one agent and seriously injured Hotch that his best friend's nerves were on edge.

Reaching toward her he placed his hands on her shoulders, lowering his head slightly to look her in the eyes, "I'm fine Baby Girl, just forgot about my shoulder for a minute, other things on my mind and all. I promise I'm fine."

Blinking her eyes a few times, trying to hold back the tears of worry that had formed she gave a hint of a smile, "I'm still angry with you, you know that?"

Derek's bright smile lit up his face as he looked at her, "Yeah, I know, but at least you're talking to me again." Garcia gave his uninjured shoulder a playful slap as she noticed JJ slowly sitting up behind Morgan.

"Oh my girl, you okay?" Garcia crossed the room and sat next to her friend.

Jennifer smiled as her, "How is it after waking up a person can still feel this tired?" JJ covered her mouth as she yawned.

"It because even in our sleep we are worried about him." David's quiet voice caused the three remaining members of the team to look toward him. Looking around the room Rossi spoke again, "Where's Reid and Prentiss?"

"Coffee run." Morgan said as he stepped closer to Hotch's bed, David standing, stepping beside him. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

Rossi glanced toward Morgan, "He did a few hours ago, but only for a minute…" The older Profiler saw surprise and worry in the dark-skinned agent's eyes, "He was in a lot of pain, I don't even think he'll remember it." Turning David looked toward the two women who had come up behind them, "The Doctor came in soon after he dropped off, the nurse had paged him. The Doc said it was normal for a patient with a concussion to have brief periods of consciousness before waking up completely. He also said all of Hotch's vitals look good, so once he's slept off the effects, other than having some problems with his hearing for a while until his eardrum heals, he should make a full recovery."

Noticing a little relief cross his co-workers faces, Rossi stepped over toward the window, looking out seeming to get lost in a thought.

"I'm gonna go see where the coffee is…" Morgan took a step toward the door, glancing back at JJ and Garcia; he turned back around just as Reid pushed open the door accidentally hitting Morgan's injured shoulder. "Son of a…" Derek growled in pain as Garcia and Rossi rushed over to help him, JJ catching the door as Reid and Prentiss entered.

"Are you okay?" Garcia rushed to Morgan's side.

"Morgan… here sit down a minute…" Rossi tried to guide the agent toward the chair near the door.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry…I didn't know anyone…" Reid quickly deposited the tray of coffee he was carrying, then attempted to help Rossi get Morgan seated.

"I'm fine kid…just give me a minute…" Morgan gritted out between clinched teeth as the pain finally seemed to subside, allowing the two men to push him into the chair as he held his shoulder, willing the pain to go away.

"Maybe you'll think next time…before you pull…a stunt like that…" The hushed voice was barely heard over the concern for Morgan, but the six remaining members of the BAU turned as one toward the hospital bed taking in the dark-brown eyes that were staring back at them.

"Hey man, about time you woke up, think you're on vacation?" Morgan stood, working his way toward the bed that now held the conscious form of his boss, still holding his shoulder, but his smile just as bright as ever.

Blinking his eyes slowly, his right hand over his ear, Hotch blew out a deep breath, "What happened?" He squeezed his eye's shut, a hint of pain causing his forehead to pinch. He then opened them again, looking at the concerned, relieved faces of the six people now gathered around his bed.

"What do you remember?" Rossi answered with his own question, watching as Aaron tried to sit up. "Hold on a second…" the older Profiler pressed the button that raised the head of the bed, so the younger man wasn't flat on his back any longer.

A mumbled thanks was heard as again Hotch pressed one hand against his ear, the other coming to cover his eyes, pain evident on his face. "I'll get the nurse." JJ turned toward the door.

"Aaron?" Rossi touched Hotch's shoulder, the Agent holding up his hand, indicating that they give him a second.

"Kate's dead." Hotch whispered as he pinched the bridge of his nose then blinked a few times, before making eye contact with his team.

"We know." Emily replied.

"It's not your fault, you know that right?" David asked, as he could already see the misplaced guilt working its way across Hotch's face.

Clearing his throat, Hotch asked again. "What happened? What am I doing here?"

Reid's quiet voice answered, "You collapsed in the hallway outside the operating room Kate was in."

Morgan's hard voice cause Hotch to glance up at him, any hint of his previous smile now gone. "Why didn't you say something?"

"About what?" The injured Agent actually looked confused at the question.

The rest of the team looked between the two men; each noting the growing anger Morgan was feeling that Hotch hadn't told them how he really felt, that he was hurting. "What do you mean about what? That you were in pain man that you were hurt a hell of a lot worse than you were leading on…"

Rossi reached a hand out, touching Morgan's arm, trying to convey for him to calm down, "Morgan…"

"No Rossi…" Derek was scared and worried and those were two emotions the young man never dealt with easily. He was a man of action, always had to be in the front, being the one to kick in the doors, tackle the suspect. But having spent the last day and a half scared to death about his boss, his friend, it was coming to a boiling point and no one knew how to stop it. Locking eyes with Hotch he continued, "you could have died Hotch…we all stood there and didn't see that you were hurt and you never let on, just turned your attention…our attention to that son of a bitch and never once did it occur to you to tell us that something was wrong…"

"We had a job to do…" Hotch tried to interrupt, but Morgan wasn't having it, he wasn't arguing with a superior now, he was trying to get his friend to see what could have happened.

"Screw the job, we would have gotten him without you…if you would have listened to the doctor in the ER…you didn't have to go after that guy with us once we figured it out…but no, you had to push yourself, ignore your pain and look where that got you…" Morgan's voice rising as his emotions started to get the best of him, "a day and a half of us not knowing if you were even going to wake up again."

Silence filled the room for a moment before the door pushed open as JJ returned with the nurse; both women could feel the tension in the room. Hoping to defuse the situation the nurse looked at the people gathered around the bed, "Could you all step out for a moment so I can check on Agent Hotchner?"

Morgan was the first to break from the group, roughly pulling the door to the room open, storming out. Slowly, without a word each member of the team turned, stunned by what had just happened. Reid grabbed the coffee carrier as he passed the table, he, Prentiss, JJ and Garcia stepped out of the room.

Rossi stood there for a moment as the nurse started her check, Aaron had his eyes closed, his head leaning back on the pillow. "He's right you know." The older Profiler's voice quiet in comparison to the emotionally charged voice Morgan had just used.

David watched as the nurse worked, Hotch leaning back, eye's still shut. The only difference was that his hand was again over his eyes. Rossi turned to go, but paused at the door as Aaron's voice filtered across the room, "I know."


	7. Chapter 7

Adrenaline  
Chapter 7  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_A/N: Sorry for update delay, issues with uploading chapter-hope it was worth the wait-THANKS AGAIN!--Montez_

As Rossi exited Hotch's room, he noticed the rest of the team sitting in the waiting room a few yards down the hallway. Nearing the area, he could see Morgan pacing the room like a caged animal, the rest of the team giving him his space. Entering the room, David understood exactly how the younger agent was feeling, but he was pissed with what he had just witnessed. Without slowing down the older Profiler walked right up behind Morgan, causing the dark-skinned agent to make an abrupt stop when he turned in his pacing. "What the hell was that? What were you thinking?" Rossi was normally a laid back person, but the fire that was showing in his eyes caused Derek to take a step back.

"I wasn't…" Derek's voice countered, guilt replacing anger that the younger man had been feeling.

"Obviously, he's still in a lot of pain and is still trying to process what happened and within moments of him finally regaining consciousness you decide it's a good idea to interrogate him as to why he did what he did?" Rossi took a step back, turning as he ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair.

"I'm sorry…I was out of line and I know it. I just…" Morgan seemed to deflate a little as he sat down, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

David came over and pulled a chair up in front of Morgan. "We've all been scared, ever since I got word of that explosion, not knowing where any of you were, except for Reid. Then finding out it was Hotch and knowing that help wasn't reaching him because of our warning about an attack on the first wave of responders. You all have worked with him for a long time, but I've known him longer, trust me, when he doesn't want you to know something he is damn good at hiding it, but drilling him as soon as he woke up wasn't the smartest thing you could have done. I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

Before Morgan could respond Hotch's doctor entered the waiting area. Emily noticed him first, since most of the teams attention was on the exchange between Rossi and Morgan. Stepping toward him Prentiss spoke, getting everyone's attention, "How is he?" Morgan and David stood, stepping closer as the group gathered around the physician.

"He's extremely tired, which is to be expected. His vitals are looking good and the assessment of his concussion shows that other than having to rest while the residual effects continue to wear off, I see Agent Hotchner making a complete recovery, though his hearing will be an issue for several weeks and I don't believe air travel would be a good idea. I have the names of some specialist in the DC area that he will need to see with regards to his hearing. He'll be out of the field for a few weeks at least, possibly longer, but it really depends on how well his eardrum heals." The doctor noticed relief cross the tired group's faces.

Rossi asked the next question, "About his hearing, everything will return to normal right, the damage won't be permanent?"

"I'm not an Otologist, but I believe if he follows the conditions given to him and allows himself the time to heal, I wouldn't think it would be permanent, but again nothing is a hundred percent. Until then he will have periods in which his hearing will be extremely muffled, if not absent all together, but as I said that shouldn't last very long, if it goes for an extended period of time he will need to see someone immediately. I am going to keep him here for another day, if there aren't any complications he will be released tomorrow morning, you'll just need to keep an eye on him for a few days and of course if anything changes have him seen quickly." The doctor paused.

"That won't be a problem, whether he likes it or not, he's got six people just as stubborn as him to keep an eye on him." David answered as he shook the doctor's hand.

"I can see that…" The doctor chuckled.

"Can we go back in?" Morgan asked, feeling an overwhelming need to apologize to his boss, his friend.

Eyeing the Agent, the nurse having mentioned to the doctor the tension in the room when she had been summoned, the doctor spoke carefully. "I think it would be best to let him rest for a while and since you all have been here all this time I believe it would also benefit you all to take a break and get some rest. You can give the nurse your numbers and if anything changes we will call you immediately." The doctor could see that these people cared about his patient, but he also knew how tensions could run high when someone you cared about was sick or hurt and he truly felt that the Agents before him needed a break from their vigil.

"That's probably a good idea…" Rossi responded, glancing toward Morgan, "Thank you again doctor."

The doctor gave a nod then made his way back down the hallway. David turned and looked at the group, "I think he's right." The older Agent could see protest rising in the group, none of them wanted to leave the hospital until Hotch did. "Aaron needs some rest without us hovering and we all need some real food and to try and get a couple hours sleep ourselves. Besides we need to go back to the hotel and get Hotch something to where out of here tomorrow." David saw understanding cross his team's faces as they silently headed down the hallway, pausing at the nurse's station to make sure they had a list of all the Agent's numbers.

Morgan hung back; looking back toward Hotch's room, a small pressure on his uninjured shoulder alerted him to David's presence. "He knows Derek, but right now he needs to rest and so do you." Giving a glance to the older man, Morgan nodded then turned to join Garcia and the other's who were waiting for the two men near the elevators.

------------------

A few hours later found Derek Morgan back at the hospital, silently sitting in the same chair he had occupied the previous night. He had been back for a half hour now and Hotch had remained asleep since his arrival. In passing the nurse's station on the way in Morgan had checked to make sure his boss was doing alright and had been told that he had been asleep for the past couple hours.

Morgan had been trying to play over in his mind how he was going to apologize for his harsh outburst, considering Hotch had only woken up moments before. The younger Agent couldn't get the image of his friend in the middle of that street, the SUV on fire behind him and Hotch trying desperately to keep Agent Joyner from bleeding to death. When Derek had initially pulled up on the scene he didn't know exactly who had been in the explosion, but he had already talked with Garcia and Prentiss, Penelope informing the two that Rossi and Reid were safe at the command center, that left JJ and Hotch unaccounted for at the time. The younger man had prayed, that some how, it wasn't anyone from his team involved but in his gut he knew it was.

As he tried to get information from the commander on the scene, the desperate pleading yell that echoed between the buildings nearly froze Derek's blood as he realized it was Hotch that was calling for help. Morgan almost hit the officer that blocked his way in his attempt to get to Hotch, but after pleading with the commander he was allowed through, seemingly the only help the injured Agents were going to get until the scene was secured. Seeing Hotch coherent and alert allowed Morgan a second of relief until he took in the unconscious, badly bleeding form of Agent Kate Joyner. However, once Garcia called him to tell him the young man that had been hovering around the injured Agents was actually the guy who planted the bomb; Morgan gave chase, only for the suspect to kill himself before he could be caught.

Once Derek managed to make his way back to the scene, Hotch and Kate were already gone, another officer telling him an ambulance had come in from the other end of the block and taken the Agent's out. Worry clouded his mind as he drove to St. Barclay, the closest hospital to the scene, but finally finding Hotch seemingly alert and on his feet, demanding his clothes, Morgan didn't give anymore thought to if the older man was actually okay. So sitting there, again watching Hotch sleep, Derek knew he was just as angry with himself at not seeing the injuries, as he was at Hotch for hiding his pain.

"You were right you know." Aaron's quiet voice brought Morgan from his thoughts, standing he quickly covered the distance, standing next the bed.

"Look Hotch, I'm sorry, I shouldn't…" Derek tried to explain but Hotch raised his hand to stop him.

"You're right, I should have said something. I should have listened to the doctor; I knew something was still off, especially when the buzzing wouldn't stop in my ears, but…" This time Hotch was interrupted.

"We had a job to do." Morgan finished the statement he knew his boss was about to say.

"Yes, the suspect needed to be stopped. Honestly, until it was over I didn't even notice most of the pain, but by then there wasn't much I could do." Aaron sat up a little more, "But that doesn't excuse what you did, what were you thinking driving that ambulance out of the basement?"

"We couldn't defuse it and we needed to get it out of the building and I don't think asking the suspect nicely was going to work." Derek knew he wasn't off the hook for the lecture he was sure to receive over the incident, but right now wasn't the time, Hotch needed to get better first.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hotch closed his eyes as a pain shot through his head, "I guess not, but this isn't over." the older man looked at Morgan, conveying the topic would be brought up again at a later date.

"It wouldn't be you if it was." Derek gave a hint of a smile, then his face turned somber again, "I'm sorry about Kate."

"Yeah, me too." Leaning his head back, his right hand unconsciously going to his ear, his forehead pinching in pain.

"Hey man you okay?" Worry clouded the sound of Morgan's voice, especially when a few seconds passed and Hotch didn't answer him. "Hotch?" this time Derek reached out for the injured Agent's shoulder.

Blinking his eyes a few times, Hotch finally looked up at Morgan, "What?" confusion shown in Aaron's face.

"Hotch, can you hear me?" Morgan was looking right into Hotch's face, making sure his boss saw him talking to him.

Hotch seemed to push harder against his ear as his left hand went to his forehead, his upper body leaning forward, in obvious pain, "Uhhh…" Hotch groaned out as Morgan reached for the call button.

In seconds the nurse came into the room, "What's wrong?" she quickly stepped to the side of the bed, "Agent Hotchner, can you hear me?" with Morgan's help they were able to get him to lean back, pain still apparent in his face.

Slowly the pained expression started to ease, the nurse paging the doctor from the room's phone. "Hotch, can you hear me?" Morgan asked again as the Agent in the bed seemed to be relaxing somewhat.

"Morgan…" Hotch whispered out, his eye's slowly blinking as he tried to focus past the pain and on the face of his Agent.

"I'm right here Hotch." Morgan kept his hand on his boss's arm until he was sure the older man seemed more coherent.

The nurse stepped back as the doctor entered the room, explaining what had just happened, he then stepped up to the bed. "Agent Hotchner, can you hear my voice clearly or is it muffled?" The doctor spoke a little loud and slowly as he watched his patient make eye contact with him.

"A little muffled, but there was nothing before, just pain." Residual pain still showed on Hotch's face.

"On a scale of one to ten, how was the pain?" The physician asked.

"Twelve." Hotch closed his eyes again as he laid his head back.

"Okay, I'll get you something, then you should rest some more." Jotting down the notes in the Agent's chart the doctor told the nurse what he wanted his patient to have and they both left the room, the nurse returning quickly, injecting the requested medication into Hotch's IV.

"That should help with the pain, it will probably make you sleep again, just relax and don't fight it, your body needs it's rest." The nurse spoke reassuringly then left the room.

"You okay now?" Morgan asked, his hand still on his boss's arm.

"Yeah, the pain's eased and I can almost hear you clearly now." Whatever it was that they gave him started to make Hotch feel drowsy quickly, Morgan picked up on it.

"You rest some more, I'm going to get some coffee, then I'll be back. The others will probably show up later to check on you." Morgan watched at Hotch fought against the sedatives effect.

"I'm fine." The older man mumbled as his eyes, involuntarily started to close.

Morgan couldn't help but chuckle at the response from the stubborn man in the bed, "Sure you are, just rest now." Giving Hotch's arm a pat, Morgan headed toward the door; glancing back he noticed the older man was already out. Blowing out a deep-breath, trying to release the fear of having watched his friend go through what just happened, Derek silently left the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Adrenaline  
Chapter 8  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_A/N:Since I wasn't able to post for a couple of days, here's a second chapter for today-hope you enjoy-Montez_

The rest of the BAU team arrived at the hospital a couple hours after Hotch's episode. Morgan filled them in on what happened. As dinner time approached the injured Agent awoke, again finding six concerned faces watching him sleep. "Don't you all have something better to do than watch me sleep?"

"Actually…" Reid spoke up quietly from a chair near the window he had sleep in the previous night, "We're watching you breathe." The barely veiled fear that flashed in Spencer's eyes again reminded Hotch of what his entire team had been through in the last forty-eight hours.

"Thank you, but you all really need to get some rest too. The doctor said I could leave tomorrow, so I don't want you guys spending the night here again." Hotch sat up some, wincing slightly as his body protested the movement, watching as his team thought about what he said.

After spending another two hours at the hospital, at least until they saw Hotch eat something, the team headed out to get themselves something to eat, then head back to the hotel, promising their Unit Chief that they'd be back the next morning.

------------------

By the time the team arrived back at the hospital the next morning Hotch, to no ones surprise, was dressed in his usual attire, dark-gray suit, blue shirt, and dark-gray stripped tie. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for the doctor to make the rounds and sign off on his discharge papers. The older Agent had hoped that would have occurred before his team showed up, because now, as the nurse reviewed the doctor's instruction about taking it easy, making sure he took the medication prescribed, especially for the pain he would have with the damage to his ear and the bruising that was still covering a large part of his body. The doctor also recommended at least another day before making the drive back to Virginia, no flying because of his ear; Hotch realized he was going to be watched very closely by his team, his friends.

It was another hour before everything was signed, filed and the Agent given the okay to leave. He stood slowly, getting ready to leave the room when the nurse returned with an empty wheelchair, "I don't need that." Hotch was getting agitated now, he just wanted get out of the hospital and back to the hotel, then home as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry sir, its hospital policy." The nurse smiled while Hotch gave the woman one of his, 'you've got to be joking' looks.

Emily, Spencer, JJ and Penelope noticed the uncomfortable expression on the older man's face, JJ, always the diplomat spoke. "We'll meet you guys down stairs." Nervousness wasn't something the BAU was known for, but at the moment it was what radiated from the four members as they left the room.

"Seriously, I'm fine." Hotch tried again, but knew with Rossi and Morgan still in the room there was no way he was going to win this battle.

"Come Hotch, it is hospital policy." Morgan couldn't help but grin at his boss's discomfort, having to be wheel from the building. The look Aaron shot the other Agent caused Morgan to laugh as he neared the door, "I'll go get the car and meet you downstairs."

"He's enjoying this way too much." Hotch mumbled as he reluctantly sat down, Rossi grabbing his bag from the foot of the bed.

"None of us are enjoying this Hotch." Rossi commented as the nurse pushed the chair through the door David held open. Silence settled over the small group as they made their way toward the elevator.

Reaching the exit, Hotch noticed Morgan standing next to one of the standard black SUV's in which the team regularly traveled. Though he knew it was irrational, Hotch felt his heart rate and breathing increase as the wheelchair stopped and he slowly stood up. David was close enough to help if the younger man needed, but far enough to give Hotch unrestricted movement. Glancing behind the vehicle in front of him, he noticed a similar truck behind, no doubt containing the rest of the team.

"Take it easy Agent Hotchner." The young nurse said as she watched the Agent stand.

Turning slightly, Hotch gave the woman a hint of a smile, "Thank you." He looked back toward the vehicle, took a deep-breath, then looked at Rossi, the older man easily picking up on the younger one's well hidden anxiety. "Let's go." David nodded, knowing mentioning any concerns would be rebuffed with a hard stare and an 'I'm fine' comment. So Rossi followed as Aaron walked slower than normal, but still with an air of authority, toward the passenger side of the SUV, climbing in and within moments the two vehicle caravan was headed back toward the hotel.

The rest of the day passed slowly, Hotch insisted they stop by the New York office before they went to the hotel. He signed off on what little paperwork was left that only his signature could complete. Hotch then spoke with the Agent in charge, at least until Kate's replacement was known, and arranged to have someone drive him back to Quantico. He would have his team drop him at the office on their way to the airport the next morning.

Once everything was concluded they stopped at a Chinese restaurant for dinner, Hotch only eating enough to be able to take his medicine, however the day was starting to catch up with him and he was feeling unusually tired. It was around eight when they finally reached the hotel, everyone headed toward they're rooms. Rossi and Hotch were the only two who had their own rooms, Spencer and Morgan were sharing as were Emily and Garcia. JJ had been staying with Will, who had shown up the day they arrived, but had flown back to New Orleans before the explosion and the chaos that followed.

Around nine David knocked on Hotch's door, it took a moment, but the younger man slowly opened it, now dressed in sweats and a tee-shirt. "I'm fine Dave." Aaron said as he left the door open, making his way back sit on the edge of the bed.

Rossi, entering then closing the door, taking a seat in the chair near the window, he watched Hotch closely. "You've got someone to drive you back tomorrow?"

"I took care of it at the office, the plane leaves at nine. I'll just have you all drop me at the office at seven-thirty; Agent Davis is driving me back." Hotch unconsciously placed his hand on the side of his head, putting a little pressure against his right ear.

"You take your pain medication?" Rossi watched his friend as he slowly nodded his head.

"I hate to take that stuff, but I took some when we got back. I took the antibiotic at the restaurant, anything else you want to check on?" Hotch was tired, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally. The ringing, that changed to buzzing, then back to ringing in his ears was getting on his nerves and if forced to admit it, his entire body hurt. The only other time he had felt even close to this bad was when he woke up in the hospital after the bombing in Boston several years back. Then Jason Gideon had been Unit Chief and they had lost six Agents that day. Hotch had been close to being the seventh, the only thing that saved him was he hadn't entered the building yet, but as with the explosion with the SUV he had been within feet of the blast. If it hadn't been for Gideon not giving up on him when others were trying to get the older Agent away from the fire that followed the blast, Aaron wouldn't be here now. Shaking his head slightly to clear the thoughts from his mind he looked up and met the worried eyes of his friend.

"You know, I'm still holding out hope for the day that you will willingly let others care about you without being an ass about it." Rossi said seriously, genuine concern coming through in his voice.

Hotch nodded in understanding, the only person he had allowed to care about him was Haley and since the divorce he had tried to keep others at more of a distance than usual. "I'll meet you guys downstairs at six." Aaron stood, signaling to Rossi no further conversation would be forthcoming.

David stood, following his protégé to the door, "Don't be too stubborn to call if you need something."

Opening the door Hotch spoke, "Thanks Dave…night."

"Goodnight." David exited the room, Hotch closing the door behind him.

Making his way back to the bed, he sat down, calling the front desk for a five-thirty wake-up call. Hotch then eased his self down in the bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Once settling he could feel the effects of the pain medication starting to take effect, closing his eyes he allowed sleep to overtake him.


	9. Chapter 9

Adrenaline  
Chapter 9  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

_Ring-ring_

_Ring-ring_

_Ring-ring_

The morning clerk at the front desk was currently making the five-thirty wake-up calls, as requested by guest. There had been a couple she had made around five a.m., both to rooms 315 and 317. It was noted on the guest list that the people occupying four rooms on the third floor were law-enforcement personal, but someone had penciled in _'FBI' _next to the names. The clerk knew that with everything that had been on the news lately about the random murders and with two explosions a few days ago, that the city had been crawling with out of town feds. So she knew that as she again attempted to ring room 314 that it was another Agent that the call was going to. Again no answer, she made a note and assumed the man was probably in the shower already and just didn't hear the phone. Returning the handle to the cradle she set the buzzer on the counter to remind her to make the next round of wake-up calls at six, then started on the paperwork that needed her attention that morning.

-----------------

Ten minutes to six found Agent David Rossi entering the restaurant in the lobby of the hotel. The team had agreed to meet there for breakfast then head to the airport, dropping Hotch at the New York Office to catch his ride back to Quantico. Emily, Garcia and JJ were already sitting at a table drinking coffee and in Garcia's case, tea. "Good morning ladies" Rossi smiled as he sat down, the waitress quickly making her way to the table with the coffee pot, "Thank you," He smiled.

"Morning." JJ spoke, seemingly the most awake and alert of the three women, though Garcia seemed just as alert if only a little quieter than Rossi was use to the colorful woman being. He had noted, however, that the effects of the last couple days had slipped a little bit of a cloud over their normally perky Tech.

"I'm just ready to go home and put this behind us." Emily mumbled. David had learned, shortly after joining the team that Emily Prentiss was not a morning person and until the woman had her coffee it was best to keep conversation to a minimal.

Five minutes later Reid and Morgan joined them, "We'd have been here sooner if Morgan hadn't been flirting with the girl at the desk." Spencer grinned as Morgan gave his shoulder a push.

"I just wanted to put a face with the lovely voice that woke me this morning." Morgan took his seat next to Garcia, who just smiled at him from behind her tea cup. Glancing at his best friend he smiled, he too had noticed that Penelope had been quieter than usual; their flirtatious banter was something he could always count on, but with all that had happened, it had been less forthcoming than normal. "Of course I could have just had my Baby Girl call me this morning."

"Your loss, my love." She smiled back, patting his hand.

"Has anyone seen Hotch this morning?" Reid asked as the waitress poured his coffee and he reached for the sugar packets at the center of the table, taking six of them.

"Not yet, he's probably taking a little more time, I could only image how sore he must be." JJ commented.

Emily straightened up a little, looking over the menu, "Should we order or wait for him, it's just now six?"

"Go ahead and order, I'm going to go see if he needs any help with his bags. Not that he would ask for it anyway." Rossi stood as the waitress approached.

"I'll come with you; he won't give us any problems if we gang up on him." Morgan smiled as he stood. If Morgan had been truthful he was still worried about his boss, the younger Agent had seen the complete exhaustion on Hotch's face the night before as the older man made his way to his room. Hotch always looked tired, as they all did when working a case, but this was different, especially since the man had been so near an explosion then unconscious for nearly a day and a half.

Once hitting the lobby, waiting for the elevator Morgan made his concern known, "Maybe one of us should have insisted that we stay in his room with him last night, it was his first night out of the hospital."

Stepping into the elevator David hit the number three button, "I went and checked on him around nine, he was being his obstructive self. I don't know what's bothering him more, the pain he's obviously in or the fact we are worried about him."

Grinning a little, Morgan glanced at Rossi as the doors opened, "Has he always been this stubborn?" Derek already knew the answer, but just wanted to check.

"He's never liked to worry people, even when he first joined the BAU, if he ever got into an altercation with a suspect; unless the bruises were visible he would never tell Haley about it. I talked to his commander from SWAT once and he said Hotch was the same way there. He just doesn't like other's to worry about him, that's why he keeps everything so close, kind of like not telling everyone about the divorce, even though I'm sure you guys picked up on something being wrong." Rossi commented turning the corner, they stopped in front of room 314.

Knocking on the door David and Morgan stood for a second, listening for any noise from within the room. Derek glanced at Rossi, "Think there's chance we missed him in the elevators?" Worry increasing with each passing second.

Knocking again Rossi answered, "He would have called if he got downstairs and the others told him we had come to check on him." The older Profiler knocked again; well it was more like banging with the side of his fist, "Hotch!"

Looking at Derek, Rossi saw the hint of panic that he was sure flashed in his eyes as they still weren't getting any answer. David reasoned that even if Aaron was in the shower he would have heard the banging as Morgan was now beating on the door. "HOTCH!"

Glancing down the hallway Rossi noticed a housekeeper walking toward them, "Miss…" He quickly pulled out his ID. "My name's Special Agent Rossi, could you open this door for us, our colleague is in this room and he's not answering." David could tell it was taking Morgan all his restraint not to kick the door open, but they didn't need to startle their teammate and cause him to react as he was trained, possibly firing a shot at whoever had just kicked in his door.

Looking at the badge the man just flashed, the young woman quickly inserted her master keycard, then Morgan took her arm, pulling her back from the doorway. "Thanks" He whispered as he took Rossi's lead, allowing the older man to push the door open slowly.

"Hotch…its David, I'm coming in." Rossi pushed the door open slowly; "Aaron?" opening the door a little more, David was able to look around the door into the room. What he saw caused him to shove the door open and rush toward the end of the bed, Morgan close behind.

-----------

_Forty-five minutes ago…_

5:17, the red numbers showed on the bedside clock, Hotch had just woken up, the dull ache that was becoming a constant caused him to reach toward his right ear. Moving slowly to sit up Aaron could really feel the bruising that was covering a large part of his body. Having woken up in the hospital the morning before he had access to the good painkillers that allowed such minimal movement to not be so painful, but now it was obvious the pain medication he was prescribed had worn off and all the aches and pains were making themselves known.

Standing slowly he reached a hand out toward the wall as he took a step toward the bathroom. He was hoping a hot shower would relax his muscles, at least until he could get something in his stomach before he took the next round of medication, he was hoping it would take effect by the time he and Agent Davis started their drive back to Virginia.

Hot water had never felt so good and the water pressure was better than he had at his apartment. Placing both hands on the wall he stood with his head down, eye's closed and allowed the water to cascade over his head and down his back. He faintly heard the phone ringing, assuming it was his wake-up call he knew he should try to answer it, but he decided the shower felt better than trying to reach the phone; he'd apologize when he checked out. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, but after several minutes he slowly started the process of washing, then with great reluctance he shut the water off and started the slower process of getting dressed.

5:52

He was meeting the team downstairs in less then ten minutes, to his credit he was almost dressed, slacks and dress shirt in place. His suit coat was hanging on the desk chair next to the bed, his gun, badge and wallet on the desk top. Grabbing the tie he had laid at the foot of the bed he looped it around his neck and stood to make his way toward the mirror. It was upon standing and taking a step that the pain nearly stole his breath, his hands going to his head, the right one pressing against his ear so hard that the back of his hand was turning white. Squeezing his eye's shut he was barely able to reach his left hand out to stop the fall he felt coming as the room spun. His hand grabbed for the side of the bed, but he was unable to get his legs to take that small step that would have enabled him to land on the bed, instead he felt his knees make contact with the floor as his upper body doubled over, almost touching his forehead to the floor as both hands were again on his head.

6:06

Hotch thought he heard banging, but the pain was so intense he was barely aware that he was even breathing, the pain was the only thing telling him he hadn't passed out. Suddenly he felt hands on his shoulders, somewhere in his sub-conscious he knew that he should be more aware of his surrounding, not knowing if the hands he felt were there to help or hurt. Hotch was barely able to open his eyes, his harsh breath coming through clinched teeth, he realized his was sitting up now, leaning against the foot of the bed. It took a moment for the face in front of him to come into focus, but once it did he realized it was the very worried face of his friend, David Rossi.

-----------------

David Rossi had just opened the door, calling out Aaron's name so as not to intrude unnoticed when his eye's landed on the hunched over form of his friend, on the floor near the foot of the bed. "Aaron!" the older man shoved open the door and was across the room before he even realized that Morgan was next to him, both men trying to sit Hotch up. "Aaron, can you hear me?" David was only inches from Hotch's face as he spoke loudly.

"Oh my God, is he all right?" A panicked female voice drew Morgan's attention toward the door; it was the young housekeeper they had gotten to open the door.

"Does the hotel have a staff doctor?" Morgan asked as he pulled his phone from his hip. Though the hotel they were staying in wasn't a five-star it was a nicer one than they usually stayed in and he hoped they would be lucky enough that someone would be able to help, at least until the ambulance his was calling could get there.

"We have a nurse." the woman answered, watching the two men on the floor.

"Call her, now!" Morgan barked as it only just appeared that Hotch was barely opening his eyes. The woman quickly grabbed the phone next to the bed, calling the desk to have the nurse sent up.

"Aaron, try to relax. Try to take a deep-breath, can you hear me?" Rossi felt useless as he noticed tears in Hotch's eyes from the pain he was obviously in.

"I've got an ambulance coming, maybe they discharged him too soon…." Derek was trying to control the panic he was feeling. "The housekeeper just called the hotel nurse, she should be here soon." Morgan knelt next to his boss, watching to see if the pain was starting to subside. It reminded Morgan of the episode he had witnessed at the hospital the day before, only now it was taking longer for help to arrive.


	10. Chapter 10

Adrenaline  
Chapter 10  
Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Within moments a middle-aged, dark-haired woman came rushing into the room, the housekeeper still standing at the door. "My name Karen Anderson, I'm the hotel nurse. Can you tell me what happened?"

The woman dropped the small bag she was carrying, quickly retrieving a stethoscope. Rossi still had a hand on Hotch's shoulder, the younger man still not having said a word, but the pain had seemed to ease, if only a little, David had noticed Hotch taking deeper breaths. Morgan started talking as the nurse started taking Aaron's vitals. "He was just released from the hospital yesterday, he was caught in an explosion a few days ago, it damaged his eardrum, caused bruising, cracked ribs. We came to check on him and found him collapsed, in pain here on the floor."

The nurse looked at Morgan and Rossi in surprise, "He was one of the Agent's from the car bomb?" Rossi nodded. The nurse remembered the new coverage of the attacks across the city, culminating a few nights ago with two explosions. Refocusing her attention the nurse asked, "What's his name?"

"Agent Aaron Hotchner." Morgan spoke before Rossi.

"Agent Hotchner, can you hear me, can you tell me where the pain is coming from?" Confusion crossed the woman's face as she received not response.

Rossi spoke, "They told us with the damage to his eardrum that his hearing could become extremely muffled or he could loss it all together at times."

Morgan added, "He had an episode almost like this at the hospital yesterday, it took a few minutes before his hearing returned."

Both Agents' watched as Hotch still held his eye's closed, hand still against his head. "Dave…" The unusually weak sounding voice brought the three peoples attention to the pain-filled dark-brown eyes of Aaron Hotchner.

"Hotch, can you hear me? This is the hotel nurse; we've got an ambulance coming. Do you remember what happened?" Rossi asked, watching his friend closely as the younger man continued to take slow, deep breaths.

"No ambulance…" He mumbled, "Fine…" As if to prove his point Hotch attempted to push himself up, but was stopped not only by Rossi, but the nurse as well.

"Sir, at least let them check you over when they arrive." The unfamiliar woman commented.

"Hotch, man you are not fine, we just found you collapsed on the floor, now stop arguing and listen for once." Rossi shot Morgan a look that told him to back off, David knew the worry the younger man was feeling and he didn't want this to turn into another episode like the one that played out at the hospital the morning Hotch woke up.

"Hotch, what happened?" David asked again.

Blinking a few times Hotch's hearing was starting to clear some, "Was getting ready and the pain…" A flash of pain crossed his face as he attempted to take another deep breath. Just then two paramedics came rushing into the room, followed by four, very concerned BAU members.

--------------

_Five minutes ago in the hotel restaurant._

"It's been a few minutes; you think everything is okay with Hotch?" Reid asked, nervously looking toward the doors Morgan and Rossi had left through nearly fifteen minutes ago.

Emily spoke, taking a bite of her toast. "He's probably giving them a hard time."

"He just doesn't like giving the impression of being helpless." JJ added.

"When has our fearless leader ever appeared helpless?" Garcia spoke up, taking a drink of her tea, trying to banish the image of Hotch's body being blow out of the camera frame as the SUV he was approaching exploded.

She knew her boss was a man of little outward emotion, however she had seen the pain in his eyes when they lost a victim they had been so close to finding, or even the hints of fear if he thought one of his Agent's were in trouble. And Garcia remembered that time she had been shot, though not reflected in his face, she saw the genuine concern Hotch had for her well-being as they tried to track down the man who had shot her.

She found her heart aching for the older man as he seemed to feel the need to hold everything in and not allow other's to help.

"What the…" Emily stood quickly as she heard an ambulance stop outside the hotel, the others hearing it as well, but sirens in New York were not the unusual, but it was the EMT's that ran through the lobby toward the stairs that had her moving toward the door, the other's quickly following suit.

------------------

The paramedics moved across the room to the man sitting against the bed, "I'm fine" Hotch spoke again, this time a little stronger, since the pain was now subsiding.

"Humor us Hotch," Rossi squeezed his shoulder, finally getting only the hint of a nod. Reluctantly the older Profiler stood and stepped back, allowing the professionals to start their assessment.

Morgan was standing near the door with Reid, Prentiss, Garcia and JJ, Rossi approached as he heard Emily ask, "What happened?" Everyone was now turned and watching as the EMT's and the nurse exchanged information and the medics did their own round of vitals. Hotch had again closed his eyes and had his head leaning back against the bed, his lips barely moving as he answered the paramedics questions.

Morgan looked back at the team, "When he didn't answer the door, we got one of the housekeepers to open the door. We found him hunched over on the floor, holding his head in pain. It took several minutes before he even opened his eyes and looked at us, a couple more before he spoke."

"Is it possible he was released too soon?" JJ asked as they continued to watch what was happening with Hotch.

No one answered at first as they watched the EMT's help Hotch to his feet and onto the side of the bed. "I don't know…" David answered, "They said he could have problems with his hearing for weeks, but I don't know if that means he will have pain this intense for that long."

"We're going to have to make sure he contacts one of those doctors' in DC when we get back and try to keep an eye on him." Emily added as one of the EMT's approached.

"That should be fun." Reid commented sarcastically under his breath.

"Which one of you is Agent Rossi?" The medic asked.

"That's me." David spoke up.

"Agent Hotchner's refused to be transported to the hospital…" Before the young man could finish David stepped around him and made his way toward Hotch.

"What do you mean you're not going to the hospital?" Rossi was, himself, getting angry at the ridiculous stubborn streak that Aaron possessed.

Holding his hand up to stop David's rant, Hotch took the offered glass of water from the hotel nurse as the other EMT gave him a pill from one of the prescription bottles that were on the nightstand. "David, I'm fine now, the pain has eased and my hearing is almost clear. I should have just taking the pain medication when I got up."

"Damn it Aaron, we just found you collapsed in pain on the floor of your hotel room and now you are telling me you are fine." Rossi stepped away; he was very close to doing the same thing he had gotten on Morgan about just days ago. Looking the EMT's he asked, "Can't you just take him in, have him checked out?" Somewhere in the back of Rossi's mind he knew if a patient refused transport then the paramedic's hands were tied.

The young medic that had approached him spoke up, "I'm sorry, but if he refuses there isn't much we can do. His vitals are within normal ranges now that his pain has subsided, he explained to us what the doctor at the hospital told him and taken he just took the pain medication he was prescribed, so unless he changes his mind that's all we can do."

"David, I'm fine, really." Hotch looked at the concerned face of his teammate, then glanced at the equally concerned faces of the five people standing on the other side of the room. "Just give me a few minutes and we can get ready to head home." Hotch stood slowly, then faced the EMT's and the nurse, "I'm sorry for the trouble this has caused, thank you for your help."

Hotch walked toward the bathroom as the medics gathered their equipment, exchanged handshakes and thank you with Rossi and Morgan, then the two men left the room. The nurse stepped up to the group, minus David who was standing near the now closed bathroom door. "I'm sorry we couldn't convince him to go to the hospital. He really should be seen by his doctor as soon as he returns home, especially if he is experiencing pain that severe." Shaking hands with the rest of the team, she also left the room.

JJ's quiet voice broke the worried silence, "We should probably get back downstairs and get checked out." Looking toward Rossi she continued, "We'll meet you down there." With that Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, Reid and Garcia stepped into the hall.

"I don't know about you guys, but I hope you all don't have to come back to New York for a long time." Garcia spoke as they all walked a few feet down the hallway.

Derek paused, "Look, don't tell Hotch, but I'm going to hang back and drive him home. That way one of us can keep an eye on him, maybe once we're back home we can convince him to stay with either me or Rossi, at least tonight."

"You seriously think he'll stay with someone?" Emily asked, glancing back as Rossi stepped from Hotch's room, carrying the injured Agent's bag.

Morgan shrugged his shoulder, a smirk crossing his face, "If someone has to drive him for a couple of days he won't have much of a choice unless he want's to sleep in the car." They all nervously chuckled as David came to a stop next to the group.

"He'll be out in just a minute, what are you all up to? I smell a conspiracy." David smiled a tired smile. They had only been up a couple hours, but he was already feeling exhausted.

Morgan answered, "I'm going to drive Hotch back, but I'm not telling him until we are at the Field Office and you guys have left, that way he won't have any choice." Rossi nodded, he felt better knowing one of the team would be with Aaron on the drive back, he had been thinking the same thing himself.

"Then Morgan had this brilliant plan of getting Hotch to either stay with you or him, once we're back, at least for tonight." Reid piped up, his hands stuffed in his pockets, rocking on his heels.

"He's staying with me, for the next couple days." Rossi answered to the surprised looks on everyone's faces.

"How'd you manage that?" Prentiss asked, knowing if Hotch didn't agree to something nothing was going to change the man's mind.

A sly smile crossed Rossi's face, "I just told him if he didn't stay with me then we were all coming over to campout in his apartment until he made an appointment with his doctor and we were given the all clear that he was okay to be left alone."

Garcia smiled as she walked over to Agent Rossi and looped her arm around his, "Oh, Agent Rossi I do like your underhanded style."

They all laughed, then turned as they heard a door down the hall close, collectively releasing a sigh of relief to see Hotch walking toward them, albeit still a little slow. They knew it would take some time for his bruises to fade and his eardrum to heal, but they knew whether the man liked it or not they would be right there for him.

Six pairs of worried eyes watched as SSA Aaron Hotchner approached the group gathered in the hallway. In Hotch's mind he could see the concern and caring these people held for him, it was the same he held for them. In the quiet hours at the hospital between the team's visits and the nurse's coming in at all hours of the night, Aaron had thought about what had happened. His mind always going back to the explosion. He felt guilty that he hadn't been able to do more to save Kate, hell he knew he was lucky to have survived himself. He sat in the dark of the hospital room and wondered how many more times luck would be on his side, but if there was something good that came out of the horrific experience he knew he would be eternally grateful that it had been him that was near the blast and not one of his team.

He had seen what losing people that you were in charge of and cared about, could do to an agent, he had watched Jason Gideon fight those demons for two years until they finally won over one of the strongest men he knew and Jason had just walked away, effectively without saying goodbye. Over the time he'd been Unit Chief he had watched some of his agent's get hurt, both physically and mentally and that had worn on him, feeling it was his responsibility to protect them. Losing Kate had been hard enough, but she was a colleague and a friend. The six people he was approaching were more than that, they were family and he would willing place himself in harms way to keep his family from being hurt.

So as he approached, coming to a stop next to Rossi and Prentiss, Hotch tried to do what he did so little of, he gave a hint of a smile, trying to reassure his team that he was really okay. Then quietly he spoke, "Let's go home."

_A/N: Okay, there you have it, my first completed Criminal Minds Fanfic. I want to **THANK EVERYONE**who took the time to read/alert/favorite and review my story. Since I'm new to these characters I was worried I wouldn't get them correct, but I hope that I have. I truely appreciate all the encouragement I received to extend my story and I hope it made it a better story. Again, I hope you all enjoyed it, I have a second story already invading my brain and begging to be written, so hopefully you will see me again soon. **THANK YOU AGAIN! YOU ALL ARE AWESOME!**--Montez_


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